Pye Wacket
Pye Wacket | |
---|---|
XB-70 Valkyrie (planned) |
Pye Wacket was the codename for an experimental
Genesis
Project "Pye Wacket", officially known as the Lenticular Defense Missile (LDM) Program and by the project number WS-740A,
The extreme speed and operating altitude of the Valkyrie was considered sufficient protection against Soviet interceptors of the time.
Design
The specifications for the proposed DAMS called for an air-launched defensive missile, capable of engaging incoming missiles at relative speeds of up to Mach 7,[3] surviving a rate of acceleration between 60 g to 250 g, and being able to undertake rapid terminal-phase guidance changes in any direction.[8]
Following initial studies and wind-tunnel testing at the
Following the feasibility studies, a contract for the development of the DAMS design was awarded to the Convair division of the General Dynamics Corporation in Pomona, California in 1959.[3][9] Wind tunnel testing of several options for control of the missile resulted in an arrangement of six small rocket thrusters being selected for reaction control.[3] The airframe of the missile was constructed of magnesium alloy, and main power would be provided by three Thiokol M58A2 solid-fuel rockets.[3]
Cancellation
Pye Wacket was planned to be tested using a
See also
References
Notes
- ^ Article title (a document from ARMED SERVICES TECHNICAL INFORMATION AGENCY)
- ^ a b c d USAF 1961.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Parsch 2005
- ^ Rees 1960, p.125.
- ^ Hannah 2001, p.68.
- ^ Crabtree 1994, p.107.
- ^ Cochran et al. 1989, p.32.
- ^ General Dynamics 1961.
- ^ Article title Archived 2012-02-16 at the Wayback Machine Pye Wacket: Feasibility Test Vehicle Study. Summary. Volume 1. General Dynamics, July 1961.
- ^ Greenwood 1995, p.289.
- ^ Kennedy, John F. "Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy, Horton Plaza, San Diego, CA, November 2, 1960." The American Presidency Project at ucsb.edu. Retrieved: 6 April 2009.
"1961 Budget Message." Kennedy Archives Archived 2013-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, 28 March 1961, pp. I-38.
Bibliography
- Cochran, Thomas B.; William M. Arkin; Robert S. Norris; Jeffrey Sands (1989). Nuclear Weapons Databook, Volume IV: Soviet Nuclear Weapons. Pensacola, FL: Ballinger. ISBN 978-0-88730-048-6.
- Crabtree, James D. (1994). On Air Defense. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-94792-7.
- General Dynamics; Convair/Pomona Division (July 1961). Pye Wacket. Feasibility Test Vehicle Study. Summary. Volume 1. Reproduced by Defense Technical Information Center. Retrieved on May 22, 2009.
- Greenwood, John T., ed. (1995). Milestones of Aviation: National Air and Space Museum. Westport, CT: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates. ISBN 0-88363-661-1.
- Hannah, Craig C. (2001). Striving for air superiority: the Tactical Air Command in Vietnam. College Station, TX: TAMU Press. ISBN 978-1-58544-146-4. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- Rees, Ed (October 17, 1960). "The Furor Over Fantastic Plane". Life. Vol. 49, no. 16. TIME Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- Parsch, Andreas (2005). "Convair Pye Wacket". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 4: Undesignated Vehicles. designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- US Air Force (1961) History of the Arnold Engineering Development Center: July - December 1960. II-24, IL-25. Reproduced per request to Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved on May 22, 2009.